Bayer Is Buying Merck's Consumer Business In A $14 Billion Mega Deal

(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc has agreed to sell its consumer
care business to Germany's Bayer AG for $14.2 billion, the
companies said on Tuesday, adding to a string of major
cross-border healthcare deals.

Merck & Co has around 1 percent with brands including
Coppertone sunscreen and Claritin allergy medicine.

The fractured industry is consolidating fast. Novartis and GSK
will form a joint venture in consumer healthcare as part of their
agreement last month to trade more than $20 billion worth of
assets.

Reuters first reported last month that Bayer and Reckitt had
emerged as frontrunners in the auction with each offering roughly
$13.5 billion, a price that could come close to $14 billion if
the deal was finalized.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Esha Dey in
Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Greg Mahlich)

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